Sixteen Military Wives
by KaterPotater
Summary: The story of sixteen woman dealing with love and marriage during a war torn era, told in vignettes with multiple characters and multiple ships.
1. Hannah Abbott

Disclaimer: Characters and universe belong to JK Rowling and other such people. I make no money from this, but I do get a lot of enjoyment.

A/N: I don't want to preface this too much, but this is 1/16th of the story. I will be going in alphabetical order. Thank you for reading and please review.

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Snow drifted down from the overcast sky in large, perfect flakes. The light dusting they had received the night before had not been enough to cover the grass. It was now covered in frost instead. The pavement was black and shiny with a covering of melted snow on top of it.

Hannah stared out of the window, ignoring the snow altogether. Her blue eyes searched the sky for something to hint at the chaos she knew was going on just a few miles away. She dropped the lace sheer and moved deeper into the house. If her husband had caught her at the window, there would be no end of lectures for her. What would be the point of being pulled from the front lines if she refused to look after herself?

Well, not just herself. She had someone else to worry about, she thought as she waddled to her favorite rocking chair, placed well away from any windows. Her swelling belly now made it nearly impossible for her to be comfortable anywhere else. Her feet, now just as swollen as her belly, ached with every step she took and were too big for her shoes.

She was carrying the most important weapon the Order had: a child. When McGonagall had turned up at the door of Hannah Abbott and her new husband, Ernie MacMillian, and told them that their child would be the next Chosen One, who would usher an age of understanding to the wizarding world, Hannah cried. She wept uncontrollably for two days. Her first born, her baby, was to suffer the same fate as Harry Potter. Were they to die as well, so that their child would have a better chance, just like the Potters? McGonagall could not say whether this would happen to them, the newly formed couple, but she guaranteed that every measure would be placed to protect them. This did not console the still upset mother.

Ernie, however, saw this as the greatest honor bestowed on any member of the Order. Their son (he was so convinced it was a boy) was going to champion a brand new age of peace and tranquility. He tried to calm his grieving wife with this thought, that their little boy, little Ernie MacMillian Jr., would be just as famous, if not more so, than Harry Potter himself.

Hannah, however, was still unconvinced. She dried her tears and put on a brave, convinced face for Ernie, but she was still unsure. She knew they were far off from the perfect world that Ernie was imagining. There was still a lot of fighting to be done. Their child may put a stop to all Death Eater activity, but Harry Potter had to kill Voldemort first.

And what if he didn't? What if he failed? Their child would be in serious danger. It was surely only a matter of time before Voldemort found out about this new prophecy, the prophecy that would bring an end to his follower's reign of terror in the wizarding world forever. There was no doubt in Hannah's mind that when he found it (it wasn't a matter of if, he would find out), they would be in major trouble.

Hannah looked around at their comfortable little house. It was the perfect picture of a beginning family. The walls were sunny and light. During the summer, the light would flood the rooms and make the whole house sing. Lazy summer mornings spent reading the Prophet in bed wafted into Hannah's mind and she smiled, remembering how sweet Ernie could be, even if he was a pompous ass most of the time.

Her mind drifted to the night he proposed and she laughed just at remembering it. The two had never been the "it" couple like Ginny and Harry. No, they were quietly in the background ever since the Yule Ball in their fifth year. But they had been together through everything and loved each other very much, but in a very understated way.

It had been late in their seventh year at Hogwarts, a year and a half after Hannah's mother had died. She thought ideally that her life was now measured from that point. Ernie had been named the Head Boy. He was so proud, never mind that he wasn't the first choice. Roper hadn't returned for his last year, but Ernie didn't mind. He took his job seriously. Hannah never spent time in his room unaccompanied until that night.

It started as any normal night except that they were alone. "Ernie, are you sure I'm allowed to be here without someone else? I mean, you've always said…" Hannah said before Ernie interrupted.

"Don't worry Hannah, it's almost the end of the year and we both need to study for our N.E.W.T.s and can't be distracted by a chaperone," he chided, tweaking her nose. She giggled and turned back to her notes.

Ernie cleared his throat and pushed a Chocolate Frog box onto Hannah's notes. "A little something to keep you going," he replied in response to her questioning look. As Hannah's pale fingers opened the box, she thought that Ernie was watching her rather closely. And then she knew why. Placed around the little frog's neck was a diamond ring. Hannah gasped and looked at Ernie, who took the box from her hand.

She didn't notice as he took the ring from the frog, who promptly jumped away, and slipped the ring onto her finger. She only had eyes for Ernie, who was now saying, "Will you marry me, Hannah Marie Abbott?"

She squealed and kissed him passionately, screaming yes between tears and kisses. Studying for N.E.W.T.s were now far from both their minds. Even though Hannah knew he had only proposed so soon because of the impending war, it still felt right. It was happening all over the school, these spur of the moment proposals. But Hannah knew that if it hadn't been now, it would have been soon. They were made for each other.

A loud crack punctuated the silence and Hannah jumped from her chair as much as she could. Ernie came out of the kitchen and his young and very pregnant wife relaxed. He smiled and pulled the woman into his arms, kissing the top of her head and touching her huge belly lightly with one hand before snaking it around her waist.

"I love you Hannah," he sighed. She knew it had been a rough day but she didn't ask. She just hugged him back and hoped that by being close to their child would calm him.


	2. Susan Bones

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and reviews are very much appreciated. I realized it was unfair to say they would go in alphabetical order without saying who was coming up. So, next chapter we will hear from Mandy Bucklehurst.

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Susan stared at her coffee cup with unfocused eyes. The coffee had long since gone cold in its mug. The remains of breakfast—half finished sausage links, cold eggs, and dried toast—sat sadly on the table before her. She didn't have the heart to get up and deposit the leftovers in the trash and clean the dishes.

Earlier that morning, her husband, Justin, had come down to find Susan, sitting exactly like she was right now. He tried to shake her out of her trance, but she pointedly ignored him. He shrugged and made breakfast for himself, cooking up just a little extra for his wife, ate it in silence, and left for work. No words were exchanged, no kisses given, not even a small peak on the forehead for the woman he might not see at the end of the day.

But Susan just didn't care if she saw Justin again. Yes, she admitted to herself, she loved him. She loved spending passionate nights with him, but that was all. Their unbridled passion and deep-seated fear were the only reasons they had gotten married in the first place. At the time, they loved each other so much they couldn't bear to think about being apart. However, those days were gone now.

They had only done it because of Hannah and Ernie. It was at their wedding, immediately after graduating from Hogwarts, that Justin and Susan had first come up with the idea of getting married. Filled with Firewhiskey and freshly admitted to the Order of the Phoenix, it seemed like a brilliant plan. With a small sneer, Susan recalled the day.

It had been a June wedding of course, Hannah wouldn't have had it otherwise. She was always the traditionalist, especially when it came to her Muggle mother. Susan was the maid of honor and Justin the best man. It was an unusually small and simple wedding, considering Ernie was the groom. Susan was certain he wanted to have every last one of his magical family there, but Hannah, the only woman who could ever talk him out of things, instead of immediate family only, as well as Susan and Justin.

The ceremony was quick. Hannah didn't even wear a white dress or carry any flowers. Afterwards, they all went to the Leaky Cauldron for a very small, very quick party. Within hours, the families had gone and Ernie had retreated to a room upstairs with a very flushed Hannah following with a giggle, leaving Susan and Justin together at the bar.

"Firewhiskey," Justin commanded. "Leave the bottle." Tom the barkeep did as he was told and Justin moved two seats down, his precious bottle in tow, to where Susan was with an empty shot glass. "To friends," he stated, raising a newly filed glass of Firewhiskey as he tipped the contents of the bottle into Susan's empty.

"To love," she retaliated, raising hers and downing it in one smooth motion.

"Not much of that going around these days," he replied, spinning his empty between his two fingers. "Except for these two, of course." With a nod, he implicated Hannah and Ernie. The tell tale sounds of lovemaking (BUMP_squeak_) were now wafting down into the empty bar.

The pair sat in silence, not daring to look at each other as they tried not to listen to their newly wedded friends. The sounds stopped sooner than any of them expected and Justin, clearing his throat, poured another shot for Susan and then him. She mumbled thank you and drank it. Justin drained his more slowly, putting it down and staring deeply into it, like it held some kind of secret.

"You wanna get married?" he asked suddenly without looking at Susan. She didn't look back at him either.

"Sure," she replied. He poured them another drink and then took the shots together quickly.

Their ceremony was even smaller than their friends; only Ernie and Hannah were in attendance. There was no post party, they just returned to Justin's flat and spent a night of love making before returning to work with the Order the next day. No romance, no love, not even a ring, just marriage for the sake of marriage.

Since then, it had been a year of polite conversation after wild sex. But even the polite conversation was drifting away recently. Susan couldn't remember the last time they had kissed but she remembered quite clearly the last time they made love. And this was not satisfactory.

She had toyed with the idea of getting pregnant to save the marriage. She would have loved if they could work things out, but it wasn't going to happen and having a child was not going to save things. It would only make them worse. Then Hannah got knocked up and McGonagall said that child was going to stop all Death Eater activity, it seemed even more pointless. All their energy was going to go towards raising the MacMillian baby instead.

Another, deeper sneer marred Susan's otherwise pretty features. Ernie would be so happy that his child was going to be the next savior. And Hannah! Perfect Hannah with her new perfect baby. Why should Susan suffer to raise her best friends baby? Susan chastised herself for thinking these thoughts. Hannah was her friend and Susan knew she wouldn't want her child to be in danger, which she was. Susan thought of the Potters and hoped that wouldn't happen to her friends.

This had been one of the few things Susan and Justin had talked about recently, the MacMillian baby. A brief conversation agreeing they'd do whatever they could to help their friends and that had been it.

As her thoughts turned back to Justin, tears fell down her cheeks as she stared even deeper into her cup. This had been the test she had set forth for Justin. And he had failed miserably. If he had done something, anything, it would have been better than what he did. Finally, Susan moved, slowly unwrapping her fingers from her mug. She moved into the bathroom, drying her eyes of tears as she went. Her face had red blotches on her cheeks, but she braided her hair quickly, used the toilet, and Apparated to the Order headquarters. Even if her marriage was falling apart, she had to protect her friends.


	3. Mandy Brocklehurst

A/N: Sorry this is so long in coming. School and junk. Anyway, here it is, a little short but definitely a different tone than the other ones. Next up is Lavender Brown.

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"Baruch atah Adonai," Michael whispered as he lit the first light of Hanukah with the shamash candle. He finished the prayer and replaced the shamash candle in the middle of the menorah, in the highest holder.

With a sigh, he took off his yameka, kissed his wife on the cheek, and walked into the living room.

Mandy heard a loud _POP!_ and she knew he had left. She stared into the candle, the flickering light dancing before her. It bounced and twisted around a thin wick, giving off a small column of smoke. The smoke was light colored, almost white. Mandy sneered at it. "The only white smoke would come from a candle," she said to the empty room.

Turning her eyes away, she picked up the small circle of stiffened fabric that Michael had left on the counter. She turned the object over in her hands, wondering what was so damn special about it that only men got to wear them. She was still getting used to this whole Jewish thing.

At Hogwarts, she would never have guessed that Michael was Jewish. He always got his friends Christmas gifts, wished everyone a happy Christmas, and laughed at the extravagant decorations around the castle. Even when they were dating, he gave away no hint to his faith. (And they had been dating for a lot longer than a lot of the other married couples she knew.) She didn't know he was Jewish until after they were married.

And so, in the spirit of compromise, she had forgone the Christmas tree and replaced it with a brass Menorah on her kitchen counter. Getting off her stool, she opened a drawer and threw the yameka inside. A small mountain of multi-colored circles winked at her from within.

"_So, what is this Hanukah thing about, anyway?" she had asked a few weeks ago. Michael was laying in bed, looking over pieces of parchment that had been sent to him from the Ministry. He was the Order contact at the Ministry and had to mitigate the orders into something everyone could agree on._

_He put the papers down and smiled as he watched Mandy putting lotion on her hands and forearms. "If you don't want to do it, we can just have Christmas like everybody else," he said quietly. There was a shine in his eyes that Mandy had never seen before._

"_No, of course I want to do it!" she cried, coming over to him and planting a sloppy kiss on the top of his head. "I just want to know what it's so important to your people. Our people."_

_The shine was gone and he circled his arms around his wife, putting her head onto his shoulder, running his fingers through her dark hair. "A long time ago, there was a great war between the Jews and their neighbors had a war because the neighbors were heathen pagans that put tinsel on Evergreen trees and ate bacon and believed fat guys in red suits gave them presents."_

_Mandy sat up and smacked him lightly. "That's not how it goes. Tell it right!"_

"_You're just upset that your side lost. Because the Jews were victorious. But the heathens destroyed the Temple and there was only enough oil to keep the eternal flame burning for one day. However, the oil burned for eight days, the same amount of time it takes to make new oil."_

"_That was convenient."_

"_Yes, very, God has a way of convincing us we are, in fact, the Chosen People every thousand years or so, just as we're about to go off eating bacon with shiksas like you. And that's why we celebrate Hanukah." He concluded with a kiss on her forehead._

"_That's a good story, you Jews should really look into comedy." Mandy pulled herself away from Michael's arms and sauntered into the bathroom._

"_If you think that's funny, wait until Passover!"_

She snapped the drawer shut and turned on the coffee pot. Michael had night duty with the Order (even though he spent every day lobbying at the Ministry on their behalf, but that was just Mandy's little quibble), and Mandy always stayed up to wait for him. She didn't care if it made her horribly deficient at work the next day. She wanted to make sure Michael came home to the lights on and his wife's loving arms.

After all, marriage was all about compromise.


End file.
